411’s WWE NXT Report 8.15.18

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We open to a tribute graphic for the late Jim Neidhart.

LAST WEEK ~ The footage of an unconscious Aleister Black in the parking lot is shown. Still no word on who attacked him.

At TakeOver, it’s now officially Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa in a Last Man Standing match for the NXT Championship.

The Mighty vs. The Street Profits

Ford begins with Miller. Miller brings aggression right from the start and throws Ford around. Tag to Throen as they talk smack. Ford frees himself enough to tag Dawkins for a shoulder black. They hit what they call a Black Panther splash, complete with WAKANDA shout, and then bust out the old World’s Greatest Tag Team leap frog spot. With Dawkins the legal man, Thorne hits a lariat to turn the tide. Tag to Miller for an axe handle. The Mighty keep the pressure on with quick tags and aggressive offense. Miller wears him down with a chinlock. The Mighty remain in control and work some tandem shots in the corner. Front face lock by Thorne keeps Dawkins grounded. He avoids an elbow and makes the hot tag. Ford flips over Thorne and clotheslines Miller to the outside. Clothesline to Thorn as well. Ford sent to the apron but hits an elbow. Soccer kick for Miller and a sunset flip inside for a near fall on Thorne. Miller is knocked off the apron and Thorne tries to roll up Ford with a handful of tights. Ford counters into his own pin and pulls the tights to win.

Winners: The Street Profits in 6:20 [**1/4]

Backstage, Shayna Baszler gives Aliyah tips ahead of her match with Kairi Sane.

The Undisputed Era cut a promo about TakeOver. Roderick Strong and Kyle O’Reilly brag about nearly ripping Trent Seven’s leg off. Kyle calls him “Trent The Beast Severn.” Bobby Fish puts down Mustache Mountain and War Raiders, while calling themselves clever. Adam Cole says they aren’t hiding behind anything and said this is their era. That’s undisputed.

Aliyah vs. Kairi Sane

Before the bell, Shayna Baszler’s music hits. The NXT Women’s Champion walks out to join commentary. The lockup takes these girls ot the corner. Clean break by Kairi. Aliyah shoves her and Sane responds with a chop. Aliyah pulls a Yano and wants a BREAK. She uses it to get a cheap shot and talks trash. Sane tries a head scissors that she turns into a Stretch Muffler. She lifts Aliyah off the mat with it but Aliyah gets to the ropes. Aliyah fires back with lefts and rights. Sane catches a kick ad hits a pair of running blockbusters. Interceptor by Sane. She walks the plank and hits the Sliding D. InSane Elbow connects but Kairi stares a hole through Shayna instead of covering. She adds a second and a third. She covers but pulls Aliyah up before the count of three, still staring at Shayna. Sane applies the Anchor submission and pulls back far enough to turn over and point at Shayna.

Winner: Kairi Sane in 3:57

A video package airs to hype Adam Cole vs. Ricochet.

Velveteen Dream comes out to the ring with a microphone. He calls EC3 funny and sarcastically calls him clever and charming. Now, EC3 has the Dream’s attention. He’s made an enemy and Dream says it’ll be over on Saturday. EC3 interrupts and makes a Prince related reference to Dream before dissing his fanny pack. EC3 says he’s in Dream’s head and he’s made a living in people’s heads before. My feed missed a bit of the promo and for that, I apologize. Dream says it’ll be “Dream over” on Saturday. The fans chant “fanny pack.” EC3 takes off his jacket, saying we don’t have to wait for Brooklyn. Dream gets in a sucker punch. They trade shots, EC3 escapes the rolling DVD, and hits the TKO. He stands tall over Dream.

The YouTube video where the lovely Cathy Kelley helps us identify possible suspects for Black’s attack airs. The video identifies these people at the incident: Johnny Gargano (possible), Undisputed Era, Lars Sullivan in the background (very possible), Heavy Machinery), Kairi Sane, Candice LeRae, Kassius Ohno, Jaxson Rycker, Wesley Black, Steve Cutler, Kona Reeves, Ricochet, Shayna Baszler, Velveteen Dream, Fabian Aichner, Marcel Barthel, Cezar Bononi, Tommaso Ciampa (possible), and EC3. It could’ve been anyone but I noted the three most likely suspects at this time.

Time for a great video package to hype Gargano/Ciampa III.

We see clips of Bianca Belair working out at the Performance Center to get back from injury.

NEXT WEEK ~ Pete Dunne defends the NXT UK Championship against Zack Gibson in a rematch from the UK Special.

NXT Tag Team Champion Roderick Strong w/ Kyle O’Reilly vs. Tyler Bate w/ Trent Seven

These two met on NXT in January (***1/2). Bat ejumps Strong with a knee at the bell. They trade shots and Bate hits a back body drop. Right hands from Bate. Bate avoids a shot in the corner and sits up there. He kicks Kyle off the apron, but gets pulled into a big backbreaker by Strong. Strikes, knees, and stomps from Roddy. Bate fights back but eats a drop toe hold. Strong wails on his bak and puts his knee in his back for added chinlock leverage. Bate fights out with some headbutts and a jawbreaker. Roddy walks into aun uppercut. Strong fights back and chops him. Bate knocks Strong off the top and hits a diving European uppercut. They trade blows until Bate delivers BANG. He fires off shots in the corner and nails an Exploder. Running SSP gets a near fall. Strong slips out of an airplane spin but takes a reverse rana. Bridging back suplex by Bate for two. They trade shots in the middle of the ring. Roddy has the Stronghold countered into a rollup for two. More strikes from Strong. Running corner knee and face drop. Bate uses a knee to counter End of Heartache. Strong still tries it but Bate lands on his feet. Strong counters the rebound lariat only to have that countered into a crucifix for two. Bate hits the rebound lariat on his next attempt. No hands dive to the outside by Bate. They continue to trade shots inside. Elbow by Strong and rolling kick by Bate. Tyler Driver 97 gets Bate the win.

Winner: Tyler Bate in 8:01 [***1/4]